Tech workers to protest Trump on Pi Day

Jessica Guynn , USA TODAY , KHOU9:25 PM. CST February 06, 2017

Demonstrators protest against US President Donald Trump's ban on people from seven Muslim-majority countries entering the US on February 3, 2017 in Melbourne, Australia. (Photo by Scott Barbour/Getty Images)

SAN FRANCISCO — More than 1,200 Silicon Valley technology workers in the Bay Area are planning to walk off the job on March 14, turning a special day for math geeks into a protest against President Trump.

Among those taking part in the Pi day protest put on by Tech Stands Up To Trump are employees from Facebook, Apple and Google. Similar anti-Trump rallies are being organized in Los Angeles and Austin, pointing to growing grassroots activism among the rank-and-file in the tech industry.

"Are you a tech worker or tech user that is upset that our leaders are mysteriously quiet about Donald Trump? On March 14th, Pi day, let's show our tech leaders that they can not have their cake and eat it too," the Facebook page reads. "We are calling for all workers of companies that have either supported Trump, sat back and said nothing, or have been too worried about their stock price to say anything to walk out at 12 p.m. on March 14th. We have to force the hand of these extremely powerful individuals to stand up publicly for what is right."

Tech leaders are being pressured by employees to use their platforms to speak out against Trump administration policies.

Last week, about 2,000 Google employees walked off the job to protest Trump. Comcast employees also walked out last week in Philadelphia. Catherine Bracy, co-founder of techequity.us, last week launched techresistance.org "to help provide some scaffolding for all this new civic consciousness among techies."

A handful of Facebook employees have committed to fly less or stop flying altogether for the next 90 days to protest the Trump executive order, according to Business Insider. The protest was organized by Facebook vice president of engineering Regina Dugan, who posted about it on her Facebook page.